South Jersey Game Night 6-26

[Kid Ice]

when: Saturday, June 26, 3:00 PM
where: Jeff's legendary game room basement

This is the part where I'm supposed to crack wise and tell you how great this event is going to be. Instead, here's a more realistic account of a typical gaming event:

-it takes forever to get there
-when you do get there you've got 60 pounds of trades and beer to haul in
-you walk in and see the same damn people who are always at these things
-you play the same games you could be playing from the comfort of your own home
-you play new games and lose
-you trade stuff you don't need for different stuff you don't need
-you have to stop to pee on the ride home because you drank 4 Cokes trying to sober up at the end of the party

Sound good to you? But let's just add:
-you will set aside some time in your life solely for the purpose of gaming...how often do you really do that?
-you will blow the dust off one of those classics you haven't taken out for far too long
-you will without a doubt walk out the door with a bunch of goodies
-you will spend a good portion of the evening laughing your ass off

Hope to see you there!

Jeff

---------------------------------

PM me your e-mail address for directions...

[Kid Ice]

T-minus one week and counting, some of the regulars are accounted for, but typically it looks as if the guest list isn't going to be locked up unti t-minus 24 hours. Game night newbies are encouraged to apply by PMing this message, if only to provide us with, in the immortal words of John Hardie, "fresh meat".

[Drexel923]

Just wanted to throw in a good word. The last couple times were a blast. I know a couple of people from Philly were asking for things to do, so come on down. Shouldn't take you more than 35-40 minutes to get here. You won't be dissapointed.

[NoahsMyBro]

I have a proposition for next Saturday night -

I'm thinking of a competition of sorts. Somebody choose a game that easily quantifiable (ie, keeps score, for example), and we can have an informal competition. No prizes, no tournament brackets, nothing complicated. Just something simple. For example, 2600 Kaboom - who gets the highest score?

Personally, I have nothing newer than a Dreamcast, so I won't be able to practice on anything more modern than that, but I think it might be fun for us to have something to bone up on during the coming week in preparation for the weekend.

Any ideas?

If anyone's interested, I'd like to offer up for consideration:
SCSIcide
Kaboom (either 2600 or 5200)
2600 Astrosmash
2600 Space Invaders
2600 Missile Command
NES Tetris
Original Macintosh SimCity (Just Kidding!!)
5200 Space Dungeon
DC Speed Devils
DC Crazy Taxi

Is anybody interested?

[Kid Ice]

I have a proposition for next Saturday night -

I'm thinking of a competition of sorts. Somebody choose a game that easily quantifiable (ie, keeps score, for example), and we can have an informal competition. No prizes, no tournament brackets, nothing complicated. Just something simple. For example, 2600 Kaboom - who gets the highest score?

Personally, I have nothing newer than a Dreamcast, so I won't be able to practice on anything more modern than that, but I think it might be fun for us to have something to bone up on during the coming week in preparation for the weekend.

Any ideas?

If anyone's interested, I'd like to offer up for consideration:
SCSIcide
Kaboom (either 2600 or 5200)
2600 Astrosmash
2600 Space Invaders
2600 Missile Command
NES Tetris
Original Macintosh SimCity (Just Kidding!!)
5200 Space Dungeon
DC Speed Devils
DC Crazy Taxi

Is anybody interested?

Surprised you didn't add NES Arkanoid to the list.

And we all know I'm already the master of DC Crazy Taxi.

Since I just set up a new MAME machine the easiest thing would probably be to have a high score contest which can run continuously throughout the evening (like Joe's Crazy Taxi contest). This way everyone doesn't have to stop what they're doing to participate, and MAME will keep track of who's on top (which the older console games will not).

If there's enough interest I can provide a prize for this, so the question is which game? It would have to be something that's fair to everyone (no Juno First or Robotron), something you can't cheat in (no Galaga or Asteroids), keeps high scores with initials (bye bye Pac and Ms.),and something everyone's familiar with (no Beastie Feastie or Blaster). A few possibilities:

Galaxian
Time Pilot
Gyruss
Tempest
Joust
Millipede
Tapper

[NoahsMyBro]

Honestly - my mind blanked out - when I wrote Tetris, I was thinking Arkanoid!

You're probably right about MAME being the best way to go. I don't suppose you've somehow bolted down your MAME control panel yet?

I vote for Bump N' Jump or Berzerk.

Can games like Asteroids be played with all buttons, or do you need to use the joystick for navigation? If the traditional buttons can be used, I'd also throw in Gravitar and/or Star Castle.

-- Steve

[Kid Ice]

Honestly - my mind blanked out - when I wrote Tetris, I was thinking Arkanoid!

You're probably right about MAME being the best way to go. I don't suppose you've somehow bolted down your MAME control panel yet?

I vote for Bump N' Jump or Berzerk.

Can games like Asteroids be played with all buttons, or do you need to use the joystick for navigation? If the traditional buttons can be used, I'd also throw in Gravitar and/or Star Castle.

-- Steve

I did not bolt down the control panel but I did duct tape the speakers to the desk. Also there's now another MAME station with a Sidewinder control. I find that station preferable for certain games.

Bump N Jump might be doable, I'll have to see how well it plays on my set up. Embarassingly, I haven't yet topped Joe's Berzerk high score of 15,XXX. The problem with Berzerk is it takes so long to get a good score...I'd rather go with somethings that's over in 10 or 15 minutes even for a decent player. Gravitar I'd put in not-familiar-enough territory...Star Castle could be doable though, and could be setup for both button and joystick control.

[NoahsMyBro]

Sounds very cool.

I'm putting out a call to anyone interested (so far that looks like just you and me, kid (ice. I just couldn't resist.) .

I'm going to try and practice on Star Castle, Bump N' Jump, and maybe Rally-X & Bosconian, other oldies with mimic-able controls that I used to like.

See you guys Saturday night.

[Drexel923]

Oh, I'm definitely in on this little competition. Doesn't matter what game it is, should be fun anyway.

[Kid Ice]

IT HAS BEEN DECIDED.

BurgerTime


Other games were disqualified for various reasons. I picked this one because:

-it displays the high scores immediately upon boot-up
-the built in high scores are not unreasonable
-everyone knows how to play BurgerTime. If you don't...learn

I was able to place in the top five on my first try with a score +8000. The number 1 built-in high score is +29000. The winner will be the highest score among us (you don't have to be number one). You must beat my +8000, but I will not participate otherwise.

There will be a BurgerTime related prize. Practice...

EDIT: Since there are a few BT roms running around, the competition will be played on the Midway version. It won't hurt to practice on the others, but the winner will be the highest scorer on the Midway version.

[NoahsMyBro]

I was never a huge fan of Burgertime. It was fun enough, but never a real favorite of mine. So I didn't really get to know it well, and only played it a small amount. Having revisited the game over the last couple of nights, I've found the game is a LOT tougher than I thought.

BUT, MAME, plus the Stelladaptor-2600, plus a traditional CX-40 joystick, is really an excellent thing! I spent a little while Monday night playing with my MS Sidewinder joypad. Control was a frustrating experience. Last night I spent about the same amount of time playing with an Epyx 5000j, and then the CX-40. Using the Epyx I doubled my original high score. Using the CX-40 I tripled the original high score.

This is gonna be a blast to use long-term!

[Kid Ice]

BUT, MAME, plus the Stelladaptor-2600, plus a traditional CX-40 joystick, is really an excellent thing! I spent a little while Monday night playing with my MS Sidewinder joypad. Control was a frustrating experience. Last night I spent about the same amount of time playing with an Epyx 5000j, and then the CX-40. Using the Epyx I doubled my original high score. Using the CX-40 I tripled the original high score.

Yeah, there are two big problems with the Sidewinder, one being the goofed-up four way control because you always hit the diagonals, the second being that it's hard to press directly down. Try to duck in Contra and see what I mean. I do like the SW for shooters and fighting games though.

Good four-way control is really a must for Burgertime. The 2600 joystick is a good choice because the stick (generally) is unresponsive, so it doesn't do anything unless you really jam it in the direction you mean to go.

[digitalpress]

Anyone in the market for a Laseractive system (no modules) to buy or trade away for? I'm making room and this extra one isn't coming to CGE with me.

[Goblin]

A late RSVP, but I'm in for this weekend.

I'm going to change up my trade box hopefully, if anyone needs anything in particular let me know and I'll see what I have. I've got starter sets of CV and 5200 that I'd love to get rid of. Also a mint boxed NES, and some other stuff.

I'm in the market for all things x-box.

[Kid Ice]

Anyone in the market for a Laseractive system (no modules) to buy or trade away for? I'm making room and this extra one isn't coming to CGE with me.

Not for me, but there's plenty of room for trades, so bring whatever you like.

[Kid Ice]

A late RSVP, but I'm in for this weekend.

Glad you can come, that makes it 100% of our alumni from South Jersey Classic 1.0 (name changed for obvious reasons)

[Goblin]

A late RSVP, but I'm in for this weekend.

Glad you can come, that makes it 100% of our alumni from South Jersey Classic 1.0 (name changed for obvious reasons)

Do we get cheesesteak pizza this time?


On another note, can someone hook me up with a copy of propeller arena? I grabbed it off usenet last month, but never got it to burn regardless of the program I used. I can bring a blank CD-R to swap if someone can hook me up.

[Kid Ice]

A late RSVP, but I'm in for this weekend.

Glad you can come, that makes it 100% of our alumni from South Jersey Classic 1.0 (name changed for obvious reasons)

Do we get cheesesteak pizza this time?


On another note, can someone hook me up with a copy of propeller arena? I grabbed it off usenet last month, but never got it to burn regardless of the program I used. I can bring a blank CD-R to swap if someone can hook me up.

Cheesesteak pizza = yes

I could use a Propeller Arena as well...

[NoahsMyBro]

I'll try to bring a couple of Prop Arenas for you guys.

Now, if any of you can bring printed labels/inserts for Prop Arena &/or DC Half-Life, that's something I'd like to have. Unfortunately my color printers aren't really up to snuff for anything approaching decent quality.

But I'll bring the PA discs.

And count me in for some Cheesesteak pie.

EDIT:
I've just burned and tested 2 Propellor Arena discs. Hopefully I'll remember to bring them!

[Drexel923]

Glad you can come, that makes it 100% of our alumni from South Jersey Classic 1.0 (name changed for obvious reasons)

oh and BTW...

...Cheesteak Pizza =

Make sure you order a plain cheese pie too (yeah I'm boring)